Dental operating unit



R. S. VOORHEES. JR

DENTAL OPERATING UNIT Nom 29, 393.

Filed Dec. lO, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 R. S. VOORHEES, JR

DENTAL OPERATING UNIT Nov. 29, 1938.

Nov. 29, 1938. R. s. vooRHr-zEs, JR

DENTAL OPERATING UNIT 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Deo. 10, 1954 gmntoc Nov. 29, 1938. R. s. vooRHl-:EaJR

DENTAL OPERATING UNIT 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Deo. l0, 1934 Patented Nov. 29, 1938 UNT'ED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,138,563 Y DENTAL OPERATING UNIT Ralph S. Voorhees, Jr., Rochester, N. Y.

Application December 10, 1934, Serial No. 756,813

8 Claims. (Cl. 355-22) My invention 'relates to dental apparatus and neOtiOn With the aCCOmpanyirlg drawings in particularly to a combined `dental operating table which and denta-l instrument Vsupporting structure. Fig. 1 iS a VieW Of the frOIlt eieVatOrl Of my The dental apparatuscurrently in use is bulky, dental Operating unit cumbersome and inconvenient. It generally in- Fig. 2 iS a tOp plan View Of my dental Operating 5 cludes a small round operating platform and unit dental engine on one support, a dental cuspidor Fig- 3 iS a VieW O the eleVatiOn Of One end Of on another support, and the other necessary apmy ldental Operating llnit paratus and tools located on other 'supports or Fig. 4 iS a VieW Of the eievatiOrl O the Other l() in separate cabinets. By having the various inend of my dental Operating unit 1'0 struments and apparatus so located and support- Fig. 5 iS -a CrOSS-SeetiOnal VieW taken alOng the ed the dentist has been required to waste considline V-V of Fig. 1 to 'show the interior structure erable time, effort, and space, which, of course, 0f the hollow `legs and the manner n which they would cause a similar discomfort to his patient. COOperate in SIlppOrting and hOllSing the dental I have overcome these defects with my inveninstruments and apparatus. 15 tion and it is my primary object to provide a Fig. 6 iS a fragmentary VieW ShOWing One fOrm complete, compact, and eicient dental apparatus 0f IOtatable molll'ltings fOr the legS Of my dental that includes all of the necessary operating inoperating unit. struments and apparatus in a single structure. Fig. '7 iS a fragmentary VieW ShOWirlg arlOther It is also an object of my invention to arrange form of mountings, having both a piVOtal and 20 such a structure so that it has an attractive aprOtatable mOVement, 'fOr my dental Operating pearance. unit, and

Another object of my invention is to provide a Fig. 3 iS a perSpeCtiVe VieW Of my dental opercomplete dental operating apparatus in one unit ating unit in juxtaposition with a dental operthat may be moved to a position that is conating chair. 25 venient for operation, but may be moved to a re- The preferred embodiment of my invention, as

mote position, out of the Way, when not in use. illustrated in Fig- 1, OOmpriSeS an Operating plat- Still another object of my invention is to proform l mounted on a relatively large Compartvide a dental operating unit having a compact ment 2 Which iS SnppOrted at each end by legS 3 and unique design whereby the supporting structhat extendcompletely across the ends of the 30 ture cooperates in housing the apparatus. large COmpartment 2. The COmpartment 2 iS A still further object 'of my invention is to prosubdivided into a plurality of smaller compartvide a unique supporting structure upon and in ments, as shown in Fig. 2, ysuch as the compart- Which adentists own equipment Yand apparatus ments d and 5 at the front of each end of the may be mounted. large compartment 2, the drawers 6 in the front 351 The foregoing objects, and others relating central portion thereof, a compartment l, at one thereto, are accomplished in the preferred emend, a compartment 8 in the rear, and the drawbodiment of my invention which comprises an ers 9 in the other end thereof. operating platform mounted on a relatively large A number of instruments and pieces of appara- 40 compartment, that is subdivided into a plurality tus may be mounted on the operating platform I 40 of smaller compartments, which is in turn sup- Slieh aS the X-ray iilm Viewing bOX l0, a gas ported by hollow legs. Dental instruments are burner il and a switch panel l2 for controlling mounted within and on the various compartthe various instruments. Although the switch ments and the operating platform with portions control panel l2 is shown in this disclosure, it is of the instruments, and the conduits attached not considered necessary as the controls may be 45 thereto, extending within the hollow legs to permounted individually on the instruments. Other mit a more compact and efficient structure. The instruments and devices may be mounted onv Whole structure is arranged so that it can be the platform l, if desired of course, but it is not moved to a position in which it straddles the denconsidered necessary to show more,*in Ithis distal chair to promote more convenient and eniciclosure, as they are incidental to the invention. 50 ent operation. Some pieces of apparatus may be more con- I'he novelty characteristic of my vinvention is veniently mounted on the legs 3 such as a dental set forth in the appended claims but the invenengine I3, a spot lamp lli, and a dental cuspidor tion itself may best be understood from the fol- I 5. The dental engine i3 is supported by a tube lowing description thereof when read in con- I6 which is mounted in bearings Il that are at- 55 y l tached to one of the legs 3. Electric conductors cuspidor I5 is supported bya rigid supply conel duit 25 and a rigid drain conduit 26. These rigid conduits 25 and 26 are mounted in ball bearings 2'I which are supported by the front wall 3 of the leg 3. Any desired type of vbearings may be used but the ball bearings 2'I permit a smooth movement of the rigid conduits 25 and 26 so that the cuspidor may be freely adjusted to and from the front wall `3 of the leg 3. The rigid conduits 25 and 2'6 are horizontally supported, one above the other, in a vertical plane and portions of the conduits are bent at right angles to form vertical sections that are provided with pivotal joints 28 and 29, whereby the cuspidor I5 may be swung in an arcuate path on a vertical axis extending through the Ajoints 28 and 29.

The rigid supply conduit 25 terminates in a valve 30 that is adapted to direct the flow of wa ter either to a small goose neck pipe 3l that fountains the water into the cuspidor I5, or to a small pipe 32 that extends to a vertical extension 26', of the rigid drain conduit 26, upon which the cuspidor I5 is seated. When the water is passed, by the valve 30, to the pipe 32 extending to the drain conduit 26', a suctionlis caused in a flexible conduit 33 extending from the valve 30 to a saliva remover 34 that may be hooked over the patients lower jaw during a dental operation.V This valve 36, and associated parts, are well known in the art and are described herein merely to show its Yadaptation to this type of Vdental cuspidor.

The free ends of the rigid conduits 25 and 26, that extend within the leg 3,'have flexible ccnduits attached thereto, such as a exible supply conduit 35 and a exible drain conduit 36. The flem'ble conduits 35 and 36 connect the cuspidor I5 with a main conduit 31 and are slightly longer than the distances therebetween, to provide a loose slack in the flexible conduits 35 and 36 that will permit the adjustment of the cuspidor I5 to and from the leg 3; The main conduit 3l enters the leg 3 at the bottom. of the rear wall thereof and comprises a flexible casing containing a plurality of flexible conduits adapted to transportwater, air, gas, and electricity, so that there will be only one connection between the unit and the wall outlets in theoperating room, whereby the unit may be moved more freely.

Other instruments and pieces of apparatus are mounted within the subcompartments 4, 5, "I, and 8 of the top compartment 2. Within the front compartment 4, for instance, may be mounted a plurality of electric instruments 20. The instruments 20 may include a small lamp that may be positioned within a patients mouth to illuminate cavities and the like, and/or any other devices that may be desirable. Within the other front subcompartment 5 a plurality of air instruments 2| may be similarly mounted.` TheseV air instruments may include. an atomizer nozzle and a small blower nozzle or the like. The elec-v with the switch panel I2.

may be segregated in the separate compartments t and 5 as described above or they may be mixed together so as to best suit the individual operator. The electric and air instruments 20 and 2l may all be supported and connected to their 'respective sources of power in substantially the same manner, as is best shown in Fig. 5, in which an electric instrument 20, such as a small lamp, is shown in detail. This electric lamp instrument 2&3 may be seated in a hollow socket 22 that is mounted on the bottom 4 of the compartment 4 in juxtaposition with an aperture 23 through said bottom d and in communication with the interior of leg 3.

A flexible electric conduit 40 is attached to the electric lamp 20 and passed through the socket 22 and aperture 23 into the interior of the leg 3 and thence up to a switch box 4I that is positioned in the rear compartment 8 and associated The electric conduit lil is provided with slack so that it hangs in a U formation within the leg 3 and will permit'the electric instrument 20 to be moved a substantial distance from its socket 22.Y

The air instruments 2| are mounted in a like manner with the exception that flexible air conduits 5i) pass from the switch box 4I, through the rear subcompartment 8, into and through the interior of the other leg 3, where it is kpermitted to hang in a like U formation, and then to said air instruments 2I. Y l

An operator may have access to the electric and air instruments 20 land 2i by opening the compartments i and 5, as indicated by broken lines in Fig. 5, by lifting up and back the hinged top l2 thereof and pulling forward the hinged front d3 thereof. The hinged top i2 and the hingedfront 53 may be held in closed position by any desired means such as a latch44. Any other desired type of entrance to the subcompartments i and 5 may be provided, the hinged top i2 and the hinged front E3 merely being shown as one means of access.

Within the subcompartment 1 in one end of the top compartment 2 may be positioned an electric heating device 45 which may be connected to the switch box 4I by conduits 46. This electric heating device is adapted to heat spray bottles and their contents and are well known in the art.

The switch box 4I, mounted within the subcompartment 8, in association with the switch control panel i2 may be eliminated if separate controls are desired on the individual instruments as previously mentioned. Some means such as a distributer, however, should be provided for di-y recting the air and electricity from Vthe main source to the various individual conduits.`

An electric wall plug 47 may be mounted in the front wall 3 of one of the legs 3. This plug 4'I may be operatively connected with the dental engine i3 and may be adapted to receive a connec.

tion from a foot control therefor, as is well known in the art.

The drawers 6 in the front of the top compartment E and the drawers 9 in one end thereof may contain any desired instruments or other articles such as drugs or the like.

` The legs 3 may be provided with hinged panels,

shown in Fig. 6ro1lers l2 may be attached di- 75;

rectly to the bottoms of the legs 3. Various types of mountings may be provided to permit movement of the unit with respect to a dental chair such as the ordinary casters 10, shown in Fig. 1, rollers 12 having flanges on one side and adapted to cooperate with tracks 13, as shown in Fig. 6, or, as shown in Fig. 7, one leg 3 may be supported by a pivotal bearing M and the other leg 3 may be supported by rollers 'l5 so that the unit may be swung about one end. These methods of mounting the unit are shown as examples but any other desired method may be used.

The operation of the unit is very simple and requires a minimum effort from. the operator. After a patient has been seated in a dental chair Tl, the unit may be moved to straddle the chair 11, as shown in Fig. 8, the subcompartments 4 and 5 may be opened to permit ready use of the electric and air instruments 2D and 2l, and the cuspidor l5 may be adjusted with respect to the leg 3 to suit the patient, whereupon all of the various instruments and apparatus will be immediately at hand and ready for use.

The valve 30 may be adjusted to fountain water into the cuspidor l5 or to create a suction in the saliva remover 34 as desired. When any one of the electric or air instruments 2D or 2| are needed, the instrument 20 or 2l may be removed from its socket 22, pulling its conduit 40 or 50 thereafter, applied to its particular operation, and then, permitting the conduit 40 or 50 to pass back again into the interior of one of the legs 3, the instrument 20 or 2| may be reseated in its socket 22.

As may be readily seen, from the above description and attached drawings, my dental operating unit is very compact and eflicient. The instruments and apparatus, and their connections, are inclosed as much as is advisable to increase the protection thereto, to promote the efciency thereof and to better the appearance of the unit as a Whole.

Although I have shown and described certain specific embodiments of my invention, I am fully aware that many modiiications thereof are possible and the present disclosure should be construed only in an illustrative sense. My invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except insofar as is necessitated by the prior art and by the spirit of the appended claims.

What I claim as novel and desire to secure protection thereof by Letters Patent is:

1. A combination of a dental operating platform including a top compartment, hollow legs supporting said top compartment, said hollow legs being spaced from each other to adapt the unit to straddle an operating chair, instruments removably and adjustably supported by said top compartment and said hollow legs, flexible conduits connected to said instruments, said conduits having slack therein to permit said removal and adjustment of said instruments and being housed by said hollow legs.

2. A combination of a dental operating platform including a top compartment, hollow legs supporting said top compartment, said legs being spaced from each other to adapt the unit to straddle an operating chair, water, air, and electric instruments removably and adjustably supported by said top compartment and said hollow legs, ilexible conduits connected to said water, air, and electric instruments, said conduits having slack therein to permit said removal and adjustment of said water, air, and electric instruments and being housed by said hollow legs.

3. A combination of a dental operating platform including a top compartment, hollow legs supporting said top compartment, said legs being spaced from each other to adapt the unit to straddle an operating chair, a Water instrument adjustably supported by one of said legs, conduits connected to said water instrument, said conduits having slack therein to permit said adjustment of said water instrument and being housed by said one hollow leg.

4. A combination of a dental operating platform including a top compartment, hollow legs supporting said top compartment, said legs being spaced from each other, a water instrument connected to and supported by rigid conduits which are adapted to be adjustably supported by bushings mounted in a wall of one of sai-d hollow legs, flexible conduits connected to said rigid conduits, said flexible conduits including slack therein to permit said adjustment of said rigid conduits, and being supported within and housed by said one hollow leg.

5. A combination of a dental operating platform including a top compartment, hollow legs supporting said top compartment, said hollow legs being spaced from each other, one of said hollow legs having rotatable mountings and the other of said hollow legs having pivotable mountings to permit said topl compartment and hollow legs to be moved to and from a position in which said top compartment and hollow legs straddle an operating chair, instruments removably and adjustably supported by said top compartment and said hollow legs, flexible conduits connected to said instruments, said conduits having slack therein to permit said removal and adjustment of said instruments and being housed by said hollow legs.

6. The combination of a support including a hollow compartment, a water instrument, rigid conduits connected to and supporting said water instrument, bushings mounted in a wall of said support to adjustably support said rigid conduits, ilexible conduits connected to said rigid conduits, said flexible conduits including slack therein to permit said adjustment of said rigid conduits, and being supported within and housed by said hollow compartment.

7. The combination of a support including a hollow compartment, a water instrument, rigid conduits connected to and supporting said water instrument, adjustable connections in said rigid conduits to permit adjustment of said water instrument, bushings mounted in a wall of said support to adjustably support said rigid conduits, flexible conduits connected to said rigid conduits, said flexible conduits including slack therein to permit said adjustment of said rigid conduits, and being supported within and housed by said hollow compartment.

8. A combination of a dental operating platform including a top compartment, hollow legs supporting said top compartment, said legs being spaced from each other, a water instrument connected to and supported by rigid conduits which are adapted to be adjustably supported by bushings mounted in a wall of one of said hollow legs, said rigid conduits having joints therein to permit a pivotal movement of said water instrument, exible conduits connected to said rigid conduits, said flexible conduits including slack therein to permit adjustment of said rigid conduits, and being supported within and housed by said hollow leg.

RALPH S. VOORHEES, JR. 

